U.S. History/American citizens prior to the war of indepenence

QuestionWhat was the main original nationality of the majority of the solders which beat the British in the war of independance. ? For example would they have been British colonists or from other countries?

AnswerThere were not exact records kept on ethnicity, but the largest proportion of soldiers are thought to be American born colonists of English descent.

At the time of the Revolution, the overwhelming majority of American colonists were of British descent. There were large numbers of English descendents as well as Scotch-Irish (that is Irish Protestants who immigrated to Northern Ireland for a few generations before moving to the American colonies. There were also large numbers of Dutch descendents living in New York and Germans living in Pennsylvania and surrounding colonies. There was also a sizable population of African Americans, who were mostly slaves.

Most of the army at least initially was drawn from New England, which tended to have a larger number of English descendents than other colonies. Free African Americans did fight in the Continental Army, though there numbers were not very large.

Expertise

I can answer just about any question on early American History. My specialties are the American Revolution through the Civil War/Reconstruction. I also have greater expertise in matters relating to military, political or legal history.

Experience

I have lectured at George Washington University regarding the Civil War, as well as several elementary school Civil War demonstrations. I was also a member of a Civil War reenactment group for about 10 years.

Publicationshttp://unlearnedhistory.blogspot.com

Education/CredentialsJ.D. University of Michigan
B.A. George Washington University